Transactional sex by mature men with teenage girls is rising at an alarming rate in Barbados.

Executive Director of the Barbados Family Planning Association (BFPA), Juliette Bynoe-Sutherland added there’s been a steady rise in the number of reported incidents of child abuse. In her view, education is the best contraceptive for any female to achieve a breaking away from the poverty cycle.

Ms Bynoe-Sutherland was addressing the second Women’s Health Medical Conference at the 3Ws Oval of the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies over the weekend.

She told her audience that some families were benefiting financially and pretending nothing was wrong, once basic necessities were covered but this can lead to increased cases of HIV, affecting the most productive age demographic for any country’s employment infrastructure.

Senator Dr David Durant just made a suggestion for married couples to earn a financial incentive to have children as a potential solution.

Meanwhile – Roman Catholic Priest, Father Clement Paul, said it’s the fault of effective abortion legislation and family planning. Paul also called on young people to place marriage and family as paramount in their life goals.